I can imagine questions the Apostle Paul and congregations he founded—like Ephesus—may have been asked concerning the Church and its connections, setup, and structure…
Q: Are you connected to the Church at Jerusalem or Antioch? A: Yes!
Q: Are you connected to all the other congregations call “Christian” around the world? A: Yes!
Q: Are you working in partnership with other leaders like Peter, John, Barnabas, and James? A: Yes!
Q: Are you still connected to your Jewish roots? A: Yes!!
Q: Is there a leadership structure that connects you to other churches, leaders, and ultimately, Jesus? A: YES!!
Q: So who is the boss? Where is your flow chart? A: Jesus is the boss, and the structure is built on Spirit-led relationships, not corporate structures. We flow by the Spirit, not a chart; we are brothers and sisters by the Blood, not by a company logo or an organizational system…!
I know many of us are being asked the same sorts of questions as we move into this exciting season of Awakening. We were once United Methodist, now we are Kaleo. We once met in one building, now another—and it is rented. Who are we? What are we connected to? Here are some of those answers….
Q: Are we connected to revival churches (congregations that seek the deep, not the cheap, the real, not just the cool?) A: YES! We are directly connected to churches like Bethel, Toronto, and to thousands of congregations in Mozambique, Mexico, Scotland, Israel, England, Honduras, the U.S., the Ukraine, and secret congregations in the Middle East. We are connected to churches flowing in the deepest streams of God’s River all over the World.
Q: Are you connected to all the other Christian congregations around the world? A: YES! And that connection is more real than ever since we are no longer bound denominationally. At the same time, we realize the great divide that is taking place before us—between the Apostolic and the apostate. It is heartbreaking to see congregations and friends choose to come out from the Bible and from biblical leaders to set themselves up as knowing more than God or those whom God put in their lives as leaders.
Q: Are we working in partnership with other churches and leaders? A: YES! We are working with the “Paul’s, and Peter’s, and John’s, and James’ and Barnabas’ of our day! They feel at home here, because they sense what we do—that a harvest of souls is coming from a healthy congregation that has noting—yet has everything in Christ Jesus!
Q: Are we still connected to our Methodist roots? A: YES! More than ever. We are connected to the remnant of United Methodists who love Jesus more than a building; Jesus more than cultural acquiescence. We have become a leading congregation to help encourage those who KNOW they must act rather than resign themselves to inevitable compromise.
Q: Is there a leadership structure that connects us to other churches, leaders, and ultimately Jesus? A: YES! We are a Kaleo Church, with Overseers like Paul to guide our pastors and local elders and leaders who are truly Jesus-focused.
Q: So who is the Boss? Where is our flow-chart? A: Jesus is truly the boss, not a flow chart or rule book ever-more corrupted and contrived by the whims of humans. We are now a RELATIONAL- based church that relates to our peers by way of Spirit-filled unity rather than institutional loyalty or structure! The Spirit is our flow!!!
Comments